Zena Grecni
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Phone: 808-944-7242
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1601 East-West Rd. Honolulu, HI 96848-1601
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Mail code: 5402Campus: Otherus
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Zena Grecni is a researcher at the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, where she serves as Program Manager and Co-Investigator for Pacific RISA, a NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments team. She has extensive experience working with federal, state, and local partners to synthesize climate science and support assessments for the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands region.
Grecni was a regional chapter author for the Fourth and Fifth National Climate Assessments and has served as lead author for climate assessments for Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Her background spans climate adaptation finance for small islands, climate communication, and coastal and environmental policy analysis.
Yale University, School of the Environment, Master of Environmental Management, 2015
Oberlin College, Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, 2008
Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (Pacific RISA) is an applied research team that supports Pacific island and coastal communities in adapting to the impacts of climate variability and change. Its primary funding source is the NOAA RISA Program. Pacific RISA is part of a national network of NOAA RISA teams across the U.S. that enable local, state, and regional partners to better understand, plan for, and ultimately address long-term preparedness needs of their residents.
Loeb, K., Moore, C. D., Grecni, Z., & Keener, V. (2026). Public views on sea level rise in Hawaiʻi: Results from a statewide survey. Economic Research Organization of the University of Hawaiʻi.
Grecni, Z., Bryson, C., White, R., Kokame, K., & Keener, V. (2025). Climate Change in Republic of the Marshall Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. East-West Center. https://www.eastwestcenter.org/PIRCA-RMI
Frazier, A. G., Lustig, A. R., Chang, M., Elias, E. H., McPherson, R. A., Keener, V. W., Grecni, Z. N., Huntington, H. P., Mecray, E. L., Wood, K. M., Dello, K. D., Chardón-Maldonado, P., & White, D. D. (2025). Reflections on preparing regional chapters for NCA5. Climatic Change, 178(4), 72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-03874-y
Lustig, A. R., Grade, A., Grecni, Z. N., Hoffman, J. S., Matouka, N., Meeker, D., Novak, R., Parris, A., & Crimmins, A. (2025). Public engagement in climate assessment: Lessons and opportunities. Climatic Change, 178(6), 107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-03932-5
Frazier, A.G., Johnson, M.-V.V., Berio Fortini, L., Giardina, C.P., Grecni, Z.N., Kane, H.H., Keener, V.W., King, R., MacKenzie, R.A., Nobrega-Olivera, M., Oleson, K.L.L., Shuler, C.K., Singeo, A.K., Storlazzi, C.D., Wallsgrove, R.J., and Woodworth-Jefcoats, P.A. (2023). Ch. 30. Hawai‘i and US-Affiliated Pacific Islands. In A.R. Crimmins, C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock, Eds., Fifth National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA5.2023.CH30
Grecni, Z., Bryson, C., & Chugen, E. (2023.) Climate Change in the Federated States of Micronesia: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. East-West Center. https://www.eastwestcenter.org/PIRCA-FSM
Keener, V., Grecni, Z., & Moser, S. C. (2022). Accelerating climate change adaptive capacity through regional sustained assessment and evaluation in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Frontiers in Climate, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.869760
Keener, V., Grecni, Z., Anderson-Tagarino, K., Shuler, C., & Miles, W. (2021). Climate Change in American Sāmoa: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
Grecni, Z., Derrington, E. M., Greene, R., Miles, W., & Keener, V. (2021). Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
Grecni, Z., Miles, W., King, R., Frazier, A., & Keener, V. (2020). Climate Change in Guam: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
Miles, W., Grecni, Z., Matsutaro, E., Colin, P., Keener, V., Golbuu, Y. (2020). Climate Change in Palau: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
Keener, V., Helweg, D., Asam, S., Balwani, S., Burkett, M., Fletcher, C., Giambelluca, T., Grecni, Z., Nobrega-Olivera, M., Polovina, J., & Tribble, G. (2018). Hawai‘i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands. In D. R. Reidmiller, C. W. Avery, D. R. Easterling, K. E. Kunkel, K. L. M. Lewis, T. K. Maycock, & B. C. Stewart (Eds.), Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II (pp. 1242–1308). U.S. Global Change Research Program. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH27
Finucane, M. L., Miller, R., Corlew, L. K., Keener, V. W., Burkett, M., & Grecni, Z. (2013). Understanding the Climate-Sensitive Decisions and Information Needs of Freshwater Resource Managers in Hawaii. Weather, Climate, and Society, 5(4), 293–308.
University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, Honolulu, HI, Affiliate Faculty, 2025–present
East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, Sustained Climate Assessment Specialist, 2018–2022; Project Specialist, 2016–2018; Project Assistant, 2012–2013
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, New Haven, CT, Graduate Research Assistant, 2013–2015
Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Apia, Samoa, Climate Change Assistant, 2014
Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, Program Associate, 2010–2012